Teen Cliff Plunge
Location: Port Angeles, Washington Date: April 26, 1994 Story On April 26, 1994, 19-year-old Steve Reifenstahl and his best friend, 18-year-old Ivan Bailey, set out to have some fun after school outside of Port Angeles, Washington. They drove on the dirt road to a cliff that is over 200 foot high. They looked down it. It was windy that day, so they heard the waves and saw the water from the Pacific Ocean within the dense forest. Steve and Ivan threw rocks off the cliff. Once they board, they started to leave until they saw a big log over the brush and decided to push it over the cliff. Steve knelt down below Ivan to held on it. When Ivan pushed it over, it caught on Steve's coat sleeve and he tumbled down the cliff. Ivan quickly grabbed him, but as he tried to pull him up, Steve lost his grip and fell off the cliff into the dense forest below. "I called his name a couple of times. There was no response. I couldn't believe it was happening," Ivan stated. Ivan called for help and Clallam County Volunteer Fire Department Units responded to the scene. Among them was EMT Donna Johnson. "The drop to the water was about 20 stories. We were taught in our school that at three stories, it's rare they survived," Johnson stated. Sheriff's detective Matt Dalton took charge at the study. He thought Steve might be dead, but after looking down the cliff, he was certain that he might be alive. Dalton sent Johnson and her partner on the trail that lead to the general area since Steve will need it after such a fall. The first search-and-rescue worker trained to rappel to arrive was 73-year-old Art Judd. "I've been in search-and-rescue for six years, before that I was a volunteer fireman for 37 years, before that I was a paratrooper," Judd stated. "Art is an amazing man and I didn't think twice about it. I knew Art would handle. There's a man in incredible shape for his age. He found a fountain of youth in a past and he neglected to tell anyone else about it," Dalton remarked. While Art was started to rappel down, a Coast Guard helicopter arrived with rescue swimmer Chris Kimble on board. As Art went down, he saw the helicopter below and had to wait five minutes until it left. Kimble arrived down on the embankment and saw Johnson and her partner coming up. Kimble directed them to the general area where Steve likely was. They went on to treat him. They saw that his legs and feet were completely broken and hanging to the side. They feared that he would die of shock before they could take him to the hospital. Dalton asked them on the radio if they can get Steve up the trail, but it was no good because it was too steep. Art arrived and asked Kimble if they can lift him up by helicopter, but Kimble said there too much brush and trees and too close to the cliff. Art then said they would have to climb up the cliff, despite the risks. Ivan stood by in shock, worried that Steve might be dead. They put Steve on the Miller board inside the basket to lift him up. With Art on the side of it, they had 20 volunteers on top of the cliff pulling them up while Art climbed up the cliff. As they were rolling around, Art was hanging around and didn't have anything to put his feet on. Once the spinning stopped, he continued to walk up the cliff. After the slow climb, they arrived on top. Johnson was worried when Steve got there because he didn't see him moving, but the paramedics confirmed that he was unconscious. "The first time I saw Steve, he was covered up and had a neck brace on. I remembered when they tilted him to pick up, I told him I was there and everything was going to be fine," Ivan sated. Steve was flown to Olympic Memorial Hospital. Emergency physician Dr. Arthur Tordini examined him and discovered that his spine was fractured in the lower back region. His feet were bent around 180 degrees and facing upfront. Considering that he was in the field for three hours, Dr. Tordini initially thought that his legs might not be salvageable and might have to be amputated. Steve's parents, Bob Reifenstahl and Barbara Ware, arrived at the hospital when they were notified. "When I first saw him, he looked like a mummy. He was all wrapped up. It just looked like it was so little and helpless and I could do nothing to help him." Steve was airlifted to Harborview Medical Center where a team of specialists performed surgery to repair his broken vertebrae and tried to fix his severely damaged legs. Over the next three weeks, he drifted in and out of consciousness. His parents stood by his bedside and Ivan visited him every weekend. "I stayed with him, day in and day out. Sitting in the chair, holding his hand and talking to him because the doctors said he could hear me," Bob recalled. On the third week, Ivan told Steve to squeeze his fingers twice and he did. Ivan knew that he would okay. Steve was transferred to the rehabilitation center to begin a painful process to learn how to walk again, under the care of physical therapist Brett Nelson. "Steve was always motivated during his stay here and sometimes we have to slow him down because he was real anxious to get out of bed and go back home," Nelson stated. Bob praised the doctors, the rescue workers, and the Coast Guard for saving Steve's life. Steve's recovering of his legs still amazes everyone. Six months later, doctors expected him would soon be walking without the aid of crutches. "They say if Ivan hadn't held onto me, I probably would've landed on my feet and if I hadn't land on my feet, I probably would've died. I think I was really lucky and I also think I must have propose of life to be saved," Steve stated. "A lot of times, our rigs don't look pretty. A lot of our equipment was given to us by someone else. But the people had the heart. They go anywhere, and do anything to save a life. We became close down there, although he doesn't know it. He's part of me," Johnson stated. Recently, Steve got a chance to meet Art Judd. "It's pretty amazing to hear about this man going over the edge and he risked his life to save me. And when I found out his age, I couldn't believe me," Steve recalled. "The one thing I liked to say is that it just wasn't me. It was the fire department, the search-and-rescue, the Sheriff's department, and the Coast Guard. We were all working together as a team. In a form of life, I thought I should use this as my grand finale and that after almost 46 years of emergency services, I thought maybe this would be a good time to cut it off," Judd stated. "I think Art is a great guy. It takes a special person to be something like that. That's a long ways down to get someone you don't know. He risked his life to save my son and I wanted to thank him," Barbara stated. Category:1994 Category:Washington Category:Falls